The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1887-12-20
THE,CHINEsE F.ANI.ALssIlsS sl.
Interesting Facts Conccrning g It's Gull
tiyation-s.T The Palm ri IRntatious.

& intecesttnG &c Facts sConCerninE Its Gull
siyation--. he Palm r lantations.
The palm plantations sfe situated on
fiat alluyiaI lands, about six to
ten feet above the Water5of the rivers
and creeks which rum through, tile
delta, and they are int ersected with nus
merous open canals or ditches four feet
wide On more, for carrying off tile sur-s
plusswatsr in thesrainy eason, aud for
retainingi by means o OGDEN suices
flxedson the banks which surround the
plantations or fields for purposes Of
irrigation. u
The plantations contained palms Of
all ages. Some had trees upward of
years old according to the asser-
tions of the natives, but these planta-
tions always contained tEees Of, mixed
ages, young plants having been con-
stantly added to take tiiet place of the
older ones as they dieSsSout or were
blown down by winds. THE old trees
were always Of a very stunted appear
ance---a condition whichSwould, 1latur-
ally ensue from the Continued Topping
Of their leaves. A pafxsiticai fungus
or licheh covered these Old trunks, and
gave them the appearance of ;haying'
been white-washed. Tho tallest trees
seen were only about walte feet high,
but they were said to be upward Of 100
years old. The leaves onthese old trees
are larger and stoutcr than those on
young plants, and the stems of the
leaves are only about a foot long. The
palm begins to yield leayes suitable for
fans when it is about 6 years old. The
first cutting of leaves takes place early
III the year, and the leaves, which are
somewhat damaged by the wintry
winds, and consequently Of inferior
quality are used for thatcIf in the con
struction Of the smatsheds's which are
SO extensively used for temporary pur-
poses in China.
Leaves for fan making. are obtained
in April, one, two or three leaves being
taken from each plant, and.t process
is continued each month until Novem-
Der, when, Twas informed, cutting is
discontinued for a few months. The
leaves are taken from the, plantations to
q clear space covered with short grass
turf. Here each leaf has 81 thin piece
Of bamboo placed across the blade
where it is iaiaed on the stem. Each
end Of the bamboo is secured in it's
place by the loose end tsa segment Of
the deX ~, d
round it. The bamboo prevents the
leaf curling up while it is drying. The
leaves are thenlaid out singly Oh the
turf to dry in the sun, and collected
and stacked at night. The process is
continued daily until the leaves are
quite dry, when they are either sent off
direct to the town to be made into fans
or they are stacked for a time until the
manufacturers are ready to receive
them.
The manufacture Of the fans is
carried on chiefly in the town of San
VI, but there are also some establish
lnents in the country where this isdone.
The dried leaves are subjected to a pro-
cess Of blanching by means Of sulphur.
They are then Strengthened and rem
dered shapely by being held and mani
pulated over a charcoal fire. The
operator, as he finishes the fans, places
them oile by one Oh each other, max inc
heap on the floor; the heap is finally
pressed down by the weight Of the
operator, who stands on board placed
on top of the heap while he is working
atsncceeding fails. When a heap Of
twenty or thirty fans have. been thus
treated they are removed and another
series is begun,
The next process is sewing on the
bindings at the edge of the fans, This
is done by women and children, chiefly
at their own homes and the fans re-
turned, when finished, to the manufac-
turer. The moe expensive fitting Of
horn and bamboo handles is done at
Canton. @ The portion Of the stalk
which is not required as a handle for
the fan is not wasted; itis composed Of
fibrous material that is utilized in max
ing short lengths Of rope used as slings
to suspend baskets from carrying poles.
Around the stem, as bases of the leaf
stalks, there is a!quantity Of fibrous sub
stance somewhat resembling coir iberg
This is carefully collected, aud also used
for making ropes.
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